155mm question

[JackDRipper]

We had the 175 in the Utah National Guard in the 70's. We shot them at the Dugway proving Ground west of Salt Lake City way out in the desert. An Ohio Guard unit also had the 175 and they would transport all their equipment out here on rail cars to shoot for summer camp. I always wondered why they just didn't use our 175's that were already here?
The 175 had a higher muzzle velocity and shot farther than the similar 8" gun. The 8" was slow and accurate, the 175 fast and inaccurate.
I was in FDC and had to calcuate the rotation of the Earth in the time of flight to hit the target. The long barrel on the 175 looked cool. Ah the good old days...
JR

 

[db_tanker]

7677 and Paladin...

Nightmares?

Remember Hohenfels?


We had the pleasure of going in January...this Texas boy didn't know what to make of snow up to his arse. I show people pics around here and they still don't believe me. That same trip, one newbie driver got snow-blind and drove off a cliff...don't know why he wasn't using his VVS.

I actually found the clip in some old stuff that I used to hold the button down for the shower.

We would trade out MRE's with some locals for...um...other foodstuffs and refreshments...

Darrell

 

[Kharn]

If you want to talk about fun times at work, the Army shoots from Aberdeen Proving Grounds to an impact area on Edgewood Arsenal nearly every day. Mini-earthquakes just warrant a "hm, must've been a biggie" and then we go right back to work.

Kharn

 

[Bulldozer]

Used to live in Abingdon, MD... right smack dab between Edgewood and Aberdeen. You get used to the thumps and whumps.

 

[Dannyboy]

when someone gets lazy and doesn't cut the powder right.

Being MLRS, the only thing we can do is just make sure the launcher is laid correctly. If there's a problem with the fuel we wouldn't know until it was too late.

Remember Hohenfels?

OK, someone needs his mouth washed out with soap. That name brings a shudder. I always liked Graf even with that mud that hardened into concrete but that other place was more akin to Hell than anywhere I've ever been. The most miserable experience of my life.

 

[M109A6 Paladin]

Sorry about the cold sweats 7677 and db_tanker. Anyone want to vote on Wildflecken?

I've been to all of them. As a soldier and a civilian.

I am going to Germany for 2 weeks in July to modify some 120mm Mortars...Vilseck included.

It may be followed by another 2 weeks fielding some small arms...not certain on this one yet.

 

[cookiemonster]

Schweinfurt...Area Mud...GAHK!!


Fulda though...Our battalion took over Fulda around Camp Lee....Manteuffel Kaserne...had to when 2nd troop needed to go shoot Graf.

I envy you bro...I haven't had the time or money to go visiting my old haunts yet...I am afraid to take the wife...she might ask what happened there?

Darrell

 

[M109A6 Paladin]

We just moved back from Germany last Feb ('04). We were stationed at Bamberg for 5 years.

I'll be going back to visit some old friends in July between work days.

 

[noonanda]

Glad to see Im not the only Marine Artilleryman here. Mons did you ever get to play with the BCT?? LOL I hated that mofo. I joined in 93, was a 0844 in the "3 shop" then went to survey and finally to a firing battery. Im out here at Ft Sill as an FDC instructor now, so I guess I have come full circle. We still teach the students manual, then they learn 2 1/2 weeks of automated using the AFATDS.

Like someone said, the restrictions about shooting are only when shooting
M-203 series, Super 8 redbag.

Dont know how I missed this thread when it got started.

 

[mons meg]

noonanda, we'll have to PM each other about the new computer systems. We used the British built BCS during training and over in the "catbox" during Desert Storm.

FYI I earned the "Master Blaster" award during gun school...top of my class of 12. Yeah, 12.... I also programmed the little BUCS (Hp palmtop looking thing) to play the Marine Corps Hymn, which made the Gunny proud.

 

[PershingRiflesC-7]

Ok, I gotta step in and break up this Marine mutual admiration society.

Now that the dirty work is done , I must admit learning a bunch from a USMC gunnery sergeant when I was in OBC at Ft. Sill, Class 2-78. He was an instructor in the gunnery department and they rotated among the classes when we went to the range to observe and adjust fire. Good times with the big guns, indeed. Stepped up in caliber a little when I went into the LANCE missile system after OBC and was sent to Germany. Better yet, we went to the island of Crete, Greece for live fire, not one of Fritz's old training grounds like Graf, Wildflecken, Hohenfels .

Noonanda, my OBC class was interesting in that half of it was made up of Marine 2LTs just out of TBS, 1/4 was Army National Guard/Reserve, and 1/4 active duty Army. Made for an interesting mix....

 

[IZinterrogator]

Somehow they fired 12 rounds (don't remember how many were HE) that impacted near a ranch house off post.

IIRC it was 11 HE preceded by one illum.

"What's with that flare?"
*BOOM*
"Ohhh, ****!"

Unfortunately, that ranch house belonged to one of the families that the government leases Fort Hood's land from.

 

[Trebor]

I heard some redlegs shelled a house just outside of Camp Grayling in Michigan a few years back as well. I don't think their were any injuries in that one. Anyone know the details?

 

[Jeff White]

Trebor,
Are you referring to the incident where 2-123 FA IL ARNG fired a 105mm off post at Grayling in either June or July of 1994?

The FO fell asleep and rounds were fired unobserved. Most of the leadership on the gun line was in the cantonement area for showers. IIRC it was a charge error.

Most instances where rounds are shot out are attributible to errors in cutting charges.

Jeff

 

[Sean Smith]

That's nothing, I know of a guy who fired a TANK ROUND out of the impact area in Grafenwoehr. Load sabot, index heat, almost put a round in the PX parking lot.

 

[p35]

That would be an interesting one for the insurance company: "Someone put a sabot round from an M-1 through my car while it was parked at the PX..."

 

[Langenator]

Dang Sean...now you've got me trying to remember the Graf map and figure out which range that tank was on.

 

[db_tanker]

we were doing a MRA just outside of Bad Kissingen and one of my buddies put the barrel of his tank into someones house....

old Herman German wasn't too pleased with that.....

I seem to remember that the USA took good care of him after that.


Darrell

 

[Sean Smith]

Dang Sean...now you've got me trying to remember the Graf map and figure out which range that tank was on.

By the way, it was the tank commander (who was the platoon leader) that fired the round. And he wasn't even a butter bar anymore. I was in the same tank battalion when he did it. He branch detailed... wait for it... Military Intelligence. That's no urban legend; I know because I saw him at the MI school a couple of years later.

 

[p35]

So, db, are you saying you wouldn't be PO'd if someone did that to your house? Why shouldn't the US pay for repairs?

 

[db_tanker]

When I was stationed over there...it seemed that the Germans were always trying to get over on us. So I always looked upon things of that nature with some distrust. Did we need to right the wrong? yep.

Did he push for more than what was deserving? Damn skippy he did...not too many people wouldn't...especially when it came to a "foreign power".....

From what I understand, the whole house got rebuilt...mebbe that was done just to insure that he wouldn't be anti-american...not sure....I DO seem to remember, though, German units getting over alot more than we did.


You see the same over here...its the same everywhere. Didn't mean anything by what I said...and if what I said offended anyone, then I appologize whole-heartedly.

So, P35...where were you stationed at?

Darrell

 

[IZinterrogator]

He branch detailed... wait for it... Military Intelligence.

Hey, what are you trying to say?? Just for that, I'm never sticking up for you DATs in front of the crunchies ever again.

 

[Sean Smith]

Hey, what are you trying to say?? Just for that, I'm never sticking up for you DATs in front of the crunchies ever again.

You misunderstand me. I wasn't a DAT, I was Battalion S2 at the time. 35E all the way.

 

[onrhander]

Back in the early 60"s someone at the navy training grounds 1/2 mile orso west of my parents house screwed up and pointed a howeriser at a 87-88 degree EAST incline trying to drop a round 1500yds. to their WEST. The (dummy)round hit about 1300-1400 yds.East,luckly in a corn fieald on the west side of the highway. Had they ben trying to drop it 200-300 yds.farther and ben at a85-86 degree inclination(east) they would have droped it into someones house lot at best,at worst hit a house! The SHTF at the Navy base.

 

[p35]

Darrell-

When you put it that way, I see your point. I thought you were saying that he had no right to get mad about it in the first place. Maybe I read too much into it. If I sounded rude, I apologize.

FWIW, I spent a lot of time in Germany as a civilian, so my perspective may be a little different.